I'm the Assassin, you're the Detective
by Adriana Espan
Summary: Tsuna is master assassin while Hibari is master detective. Born to be natural enemies, one is destined to defeat the other. Tsuna wasn't supposed to make Hibari fall in love with him unknowingly, nor was he supposed to fall back in love himself. This all just leads to one big tragedy. 1827.
1. First Encounter

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

**Cause every author needs a story that is never going to be completed. I name this Experimental fic #1, which, to me, means those stories which are very long and thus will take a long time to complete kind, but I do try to finish my stories even if it's going to take 20 years… unless I totally lost interest. Teehee. **

**Pardon for the mix of tenses, I just write what comes natural to me.**

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><p><strong>I. Introduction: First Encounter <strong>

"Are you sure we're calling _him_?" A police officer said to his superior in the office, voice full of reluctance and uncertainty. They all knew _him_, and while he was a miracle worker and a genius, no one actually liked working with him unless necessary.

The superior glared, which made the police officer gulp a little. "What can we do? It's _the _Assassin we're talking about. The one and only Arancione! We've been trying to catch him for ages, but to no avail. Not to mention he has attacked one of the important ministers! The next thing we know, he might just assassinate the President! This absolutely cannot go on. Unless you have any better ideas to suggest?" _Do I look like I want to call him? _

"…Yes sir. I'll contact him."

The superior watched as the police officer rushed out of the room in an attempt to escape his wrath, slightly, just slightly, taking pleasure that he could still scare people out of their wits if he wanted too.

The man shook his head to clear his mind and let out a deep sigh. He could feel a headache coming already. He hadn't slept for god knows how long, just to work on this case and still not finding any leads. He stared at the warning letter given to the victim to look for any clues, only to find none.

_Massimiliano __Melinno,_

_Prepare to face your death 7 days later. Do not try to hide, for I will always find you and kill you._

—_Arancione_

How very scary and threatening. He knew all the words are true as this kind of incidents have happened countless times before, and Arancione would always fulfil his promise without getting caught.

He massaged his head and tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. This was becoming extremely difficult.

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><p>"Where did he go? I saw him right there!" Police officers were scattered all around, trying to find the assassin who was there just moments ago.<p>

"Shut up herbivores, and actually go and search!" A man growled, glaring at the people who were panicking. He wasn't helping, since he had only made them panic even more.

Said man was scanning the room, trying to locate a place that could allow a person to hide, or a secret passageway, but instead finding none.

This man, was Hibari Kyoya, a well-known detective. In fact, he was said to be the best. However, he had a very bad temper, and kept threatening to bite everyone he saw to death. Especially the useless rookies who were absolutely unable to do anything whatsoever. Nevertheless, that didn't mean that the higher-ups weren't scared of him.

Some people said that Hibari was like Sherlock Holmes reincarnate. Yes, he was that good in solving cases. He even got the antisocial behaviour and attitude. In fact, he was even _worse _than Sherlock Holmes. At least Sherlock was not violent, nor does he bite people to death. However, he was still needed for investigations, even though people were so scared of him they couldn't possibly do anything.

Yet, for all his genius, the master detective could not find a trace of Arancione. It was as if he disappeared into thin air.

What was special about this Arancione was not because he was an assassin. There were tons of hired assassins in the Mafia world. However, no one has ever seen him before, or known of his identity. The most important thing of all, was that he would always leave a note 7 days before he assassinate anyone. Yet, he could still break through all the defences and preparations and the target would always get killed without fail. It was truly amazing, if we disregard the fact that we were talking about human lives here. Not to mention that he has one hundred percent accuracy.

However, it was known that he only accepted requests that targeted those who committed crimes, although it was a rumour that is unconfirmed. But there's no such thing as an assassin who does good, right?

No one ever caught a glimpse of him. He was like a shadow in the darkness, gone before you could have a good look at him. They didn't even know Arancione's gender, thus it was not impossible that Arancione was actually a girl. Nobody knows.

This time round, Arancione assassinated a leader of a renown company. The target had confessed to the police about all the wrongs he had done, and was willing to go to jail and accept his punishment, instead of getting killed by Arancione. He had some illegal trades, threatened many, and did some other illegal things for the sake of economic benefits throughout his successful career.

The police only tried to help him because they desperately wanted to catch Arancione as he was getting out of hand, and was going to send him to jail after the whole affair was finished. If he didn't die before then, that was.

They had waited to ambush the Assassin, but it was apparently impossible to ambush him. As mentioned before, he was like a shadow. Just now, all everyone saw was black and the target collapsed. Just like that, he was dead. Many things happened at once. Medical attention was immediately given to the victim.

The black shadow disappeared, and nothing was left in the place where he was a few seconds ago.

Hibari looked for wounds on the victim, only finding one at the back of right shoulder blade, which apparently pierced through the heart. A fatal blow, and extremely accurate.

As expected of a master assassin.

Which brings us to the confusion stated right at the beginning. Every police officer was trying to find the mysterious assassin. After searching the whole room and finding no trace of him, Hibari concluded that the assassin has somehow already escaped, even if Hibari didn't know how he did so. He ran out of the house and tried to find out where he could have gone.

As Hibari rushed out the door, he conveniently stopped a random passerby carrying shopping bags and asked, "Sorry, did you see a suspicious-looking person in black? Perhaps with a cloak?"

The passerby looked a bit startled at the sudden question, his round, innocent brown eyes widened a little. Scratching his head that was full of his brown spiky hair, he finally answered, "Eh? A suspicious-looking person in black? I think… I think I saw one man in black running in that direction just now."

The brunette pointed to the direction behind him.

Without even sparing a second glance or thanking the man, Hibari just rushed off to chase the assassin.

He ran in the direction the brunette had kindly pointed out to him but, _damn, _there were simply too many people on the streets. He wouldn't be able to find Arancione at this rate, with him trying to search for him through this kind of crowd. Furthermore, Arancione was a professional assassin, and he would have many ways to escape and disguise himself from the public's eyes. Hibari gritted his teeth in annoyance. He had never met such a troublesome criminal before, and so skilful at that. How did he disappear like that?

But where, where could he be hiding? Shops? No, there would be no place to run if he was found. If he were on the streets, he would have been found already, since Hibari highly doubted that he was inconspicuous. Unless, of course, he changed out of his assassin attire and blended in like a normal citizen, which meant that it would be near impossible to find him. Too little clues, too little clues…

Hibari suddenly stopped in the middle of his run, facing an alley that was a dead-end. There was no sign of any man who had passed the place and no one could have escaped from here.

At the end of day, Hibari came back to the crime scene empty-handed, and he was not a happy man. Well, he was giving such an intimidating aura that most people just fled for their own safety before he even came close. He could only investigate the crime scene to find anymore possible clues at this moment, and wait for Arancione to strike again.

This marks the start of a game of cat and mouse. Will the cat catch the mouse and bite it to death… who knows.

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><p><strong>P.S. Arancione means orange in Italian. I spent a lot of time thinking of that name. <strong>

**Comments are appreciated. **


	2. We meet again

**Note: Setting is Sicily, Italy. (I have never been to Italy, so I'm not quite sure what I'm writing. I'm somehow basing the places on my imagination of 1900s England. You know, those places that look really run-down and old and lots of alleys. Victorian houses too.)**

**Will not bring in Vongola, and warning of OOC Tsuna. **

**Disclaimer: As usual, do not own anything.**

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><p>This was the third time, the third time that Arancione had escaped from his clutches. Anger flared within Hibari.<p>

How humiliating.

No one had actually disappeared from his sight like that before, and it was annoying how that assassin did it so easily, making Hibari felt as if he was being mocked at. No plan had successfully deterred Arancione's escape.

He was, however, glad – as glad as Hibari could ever be, which was probably not very glad – to say that he getting better and closer every time. (More like the sense of satisfaction that a predator feels when it gets nearer and nearer to the prey.) He could catch a longer glimpse of Arancione, and it seemed as if he had more difficulty trying to escape. He just needed a better and more elaborate plan… and hopefully better police officers to work with. That useless bunch of people only got in the way of his hard work.

Next time, Hibari would be sure to get him.

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><p>He ran, as fast as he could, so fast that he could feel the wind rushing past his face as he navigated through the streets of Sicily. He was in the middle of escaping from a detective after finishing his latest assassination.<p>

How did the detective manage to follow him so far?

Well, in his defense, he had never expected to be caught in the middle of his escape. He was getting too complacent, probably. Now Plan A was gone, and he may or may not have had a Plan B.

He mentally imagined the map of Sicily in his mind, mapping out all the possible routes of escape. The only thing he could see were dead ends, dead ends and more dead ends. _Damn it, he's good. He's forcing me to escape this way, which leads to tons of dead ends. _The assassin sighed as he turned to see the figure chasing after him, inching dangerously close.

No one had ever been so close to catching him, and he didn't really want anyone to do that again.

_Kyoya Hibari. _He must do a thorough research on the detective when he gets back to his house. If he ever managed to get back, that was to say.

He noticed that he was reaching a crossroad. Where should he go? Left, ambush. Probably front too, and there was no turning back, of course. Not with the scary detective chasing after him, because frankly speaking, he would rather face the army of police officers than that one guy.

He turned right, and continued to run at his fastest speed, hoping to get the detective off his back.

He frowned. He couldn't want to continue like this, and he would like to avoid a direct fight with Hibari without knowing his background.

Come on. Think of something… Anything.

An idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

Ah…

_That_. That could work, no matter how reluctant he was to execute the plan.

Well, while he didn't want the situation to end up like this, it seemed like he had little choice. Looks like he was going to have a trip to the police station.

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><p>Hibari watched as the assassin turned right, and if his memory served to be correct, that area was more secluded.<p>

"What? Who– Don't! Hiiiieeee!" A scream – more like a very high-pitched shriek that could make people deaf – tore through the air, and the source was exactly in the direction of where Arancione had gone.

_What did he—_

Hibari increased his speed to catch up with him. When he finally reached the turn, all Hibari saw was a shadow which jumped over the walls, with the cape flowing down. In a blink of an eye, it was gone.

… Then he turned his gaze onto the person lying on the ground, blood pooling around his chest and leg. There was no other person in sight, and for all his well-known cold-heartedness, Hibari couldn't ignore an injured civilian and let him die while he chased down a criminal. Furthermore, it looked like there was no progress on this day either, even if he was nearly there. (He needed to think of another plan, _again_.)

Hibari narrowed his eyes in recognition as he took a closer inspection of the injured person. To his surprise, it was the same brown-haired passerby he had encountered when he was chasing after Arancione on the first case. "You."

_Him. He was surely linked to the whole thing. __There is no such thing as coincidence_, _just the illusion of coincidence itself_. _He could very well be a new lead to the case._

"Mis… Mis… ter…" The young man gritted out in pain.

Hibari moved forward to examine his wounds. It was best to send him to the hospital immediately, and interrogate him afterwards. While Hibari was tempted to demand answers right there, the man seemed incapable of talking in that kind of pain, and a living man was more useful than a dead one.

_Troublesome herbivores. Bite to death later. _

"Name, herbivore?"

The young man looked up, brown eyes as round as ever, but now turning slightly watery due to the pain.

"My name… is…" He paused as a wave of pain crashed through his body, and sucked in a deep, painful breath.

"… Tsuna- Tsunayoshi… Sawada..."

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><p>—<em>Hospital<em>

Tsuna bit his lips in pain as the nurse help him clean his wounds. They stung! Why on earth did this happen again? For god's sake, he really hated his life.

In his pain, he noticed that a police officer walked in, along with the detective who had helped to bring him to the hospital.

"I see that you're awake now." The police officer started. "Nice to meet you, I'm Inspector Tetsuya Kusakabe, currently looking into the case regarding the assassin Arancione."

Tsuna grimaced while trying to smile through the pain. "Nice to meet– ouch! Lighter, please!– you, I'm Tsunayoshi Sawada."

"Mr. Sawada, is it? Here is my companion, Hibari Kyoya. He is a well-known detective helping me with this case." Kusakabe gestured to the man beside him who didn't bother to talk at all.

"Ah! Detective Hibari, thank you so much saving me and sending me to the hospital. How do I thank–" A glare was sent his way, and Tsuna faltered off mid-sentence.

"Don't mind him! He may look very scary but he won't bite– er I meant he won't hurt you, I'm sure. There's no need to thank us, too, it's really just our job."

"O- Okay…"

"May I request to ask you a few questions, Mr. Sawada? To aid us on the case."

"Oh… Sure, I would be glad to help."

"Firstly, why were you in that place? It's quite a secluded area, no?"

"I'm sorry, I got lost while trying to get home…" Tsuna gave a sheepish smile, "I'm always very useless, I apologize."

Kusakabe took some notes. "I see… Can you describe to us what happened exactly?"

"It happened in a blur, and before I knew it, I was in pain and on the floor bleeding."

More scribbling. "Did you happen to see the person who attacked you?"

"The person…? No… I think he was wearing a black cloak or something, but he was so fast…"

"He? What makes you think that it was a 'he'?"

"The aura he was giving off? I'm not quite sure how to explain, but I would presume that the person was a male."

"I see… May I know what you were doing at 3.27pm that day?"

"Before the attack, you mean? Hmm, I was going home after my shift at work, and I wanted to find a shop to buy the ingredients, but somehow I got lost… Wait, am I being suspected? I swear, I don't know what was happening!" Tsuna panicked, waving his hands around, only to stop and wince when he realised he was injured.

"Rest assured, this is just standard procedure. Where do you work at? And when did your shift end?"

"I work at _Pâtisserie du Ciel_, you know, the pastry shop. We have really nice pastry! You guys should go there some time and I'll give you some pastry for free!" Tsuna gave a bright smile that very nearly blinded Kusakabe. He had to blink to get rid of the bright spots in his eyes. "Anyway, My shift ended at around 3pm, and I was tidying something up so I left the shop around ten minutes later. Then I got lost and attacked, I guess."

"So you left the shop at 3.10pm?" Kusakabe took a glance at Hibari, who did not change his expression for the past ten minutes or so.

Tsuna nodded. "Yes, but I didn't really check the time though."

"Thank you. Oh and the other time? When Hibari met you on the streets?"

"The time when… Oh! Yes, I remember. I wasn't sure if it was the same person though… both of them are too fast for my eyes."

"And the reason you were at that place?"

"I was going home after shopping."

"You live near there?"

"That district, yes."

"Okay… Anything else to ask, sir?" Kusakabe asked the detective.

"Hn."

"Thank you so much for your information and I apologize for any inconvenience caused. Do rest well and get well soon. We are going to take our leave now."

"Thank you! I hope you can catch the assassin soon!" Tsuna smiled as he watched the two of them leave. He then tried to lie down, only to wince as pain shot up from his chest.

Remind him again, why did he plunge a knife into his own chest and leg? Even if he knew that it wasn't going to be fatal – for he had experienced far worse than that – but the fact remained that it hurt as hell with stab wounds on his body deep enough to kill a normal person from blood loss if not treated. He did have an assassin image to maintain, and would not give anyone, even himself, half-assed wounds because that would damage his pride.

Damn that Hibari for chasing him. Whatever, what was done is done, and he would have to live with it. To think he had to pretend to be attacked by Arancione to protect his identity, since no one would actually even think that Arancione was him. Making them think that Arancione had escaped when he was in fact right under their eyes.

The only way to avoid suspicions was to make himself obvious and convince everyone that he was innocent. And not to forget the blinding smile and puppy eyes. Flowers and sparkles always work. _Always_.

In the future, however, he would have to tread carefully, and create lots of alibi, because Hibari would not be easy to fool. Even so, he was definitely not afraid of the police.

Oh well, two can play this game.

After all, Tsuna thought with a smirk unbefitting of the innocent image he was trying to create, he always loved a challenge.

* * *

><p>"So what do you think, sir?" Kusakabe asked as they left the hospital.<p>

"Suspicious, yet no evidence. We would have to let him go for now, but keep a close watch on him."

"Yes, sir."

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><p>—<em>Two weeks later<em>

"Sir, the information about Tsunayoshi Sawada that you wanted. He is an ordinary civilian, an orphan who grew up at an orphanage, and now works at the pastry shop Pâtisserie du Ciel. No suspicious events or previous criminal records."

Hibari didn't reply. Kusakabe was used to Hibari being like this and sighed. He was one of the few people who Hibari did not constantly lash out at or bite to death, so he was sent to deal with him whenever the police needed his assistance. Not a very good job, really. He only joined this case later on though, since he was still taking care of another one, but he was soon sent to be helping this case instead.

"… Sir. It's lunchtime now, are you going to eat? I heard Pâtisserie du Ciel is a really good shop. The cakes are very good… and it's nearby. Perhaps you could drop by there later?"

Well, what others didn't know was that Hibari had a sweet tooth. Kusakabe himself knew of it by chance too, catching Hibari bringing sweets to work and eating them.

"You can try talking to Mr. Sawada too, he's back to work now, to see if there are any new things you can discover about him?"

"Hn."

Kusakabe sighed, and decided that he was just going to leave the detective alone.

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><p>Hibari stood in front of the bustling shop which said <em>Pâtisserie du Ciel<em>. It must really have been a popular shop, for the people inside there were practically squeezing past one another to get in. Bother. Hibari wasn't there to buy pastry – or so he tells himself – but for work.

_Crowding herbivores! _

Hibari could feel the itch to take out his tonfas and bite everyone present to death already.

As if sensing the scary aura Hibari was leaking, the crowd parted ways for him and most people just scattered away upon his glare.

"Eh?" A brown-haired head who was previously drowned by the crowd peeked out, curious of the sudden decrease in people.

Tsuna met eyes with Hibari, and exclaimed, "Oh, is that Mr. Hibari? Welcome to Pâtisserie du Ciel! Are you here to buy some pastries?"

No reply.

Tsuna smiled amiably even as he looked around the now empty shop. "Are you trying to kill my business, Detective Hibari? Since you have scared away all my customers, why don't you compensate by buying all the pastry that would have otherwise been bought by those who you have so kindly chased out?"

"Herbivore." There was an annoyed edge to Hibari's voice.

"Haha, I was just kidding. But I can't give you free pastries now though, maybe next time." Tsuna said in a slightly nervous tone. "Although the bosses may be a bit angry… hmm… Oh well. What would you like to buy?"

Tsuna looked at Hibari expectantly.

"Do you want to look around first? Anyway, today's specials is _Éclair au Chocolat, _and they are nearly sold out already! The chocolate is only made from the best ingredients, and I promise you can't stop eating them. Or would you like to try our macarons? They are one of the best-selling pastries too! We have a variety of flavours, like caramel, raspberry, chocolate, vanilla, and even foie gras and matcha!"

"…Matcha?"

"Yes, matcha. You know, Japanese green tea?"

"I want that."

"Okay! Anything else? Come, there are also tarts, croissants, puits d'amour, brioche, mille-feuille…"

… And that was how Hibari managed to get two bags of pastry, to which even Tsuna was shocked. So sweet things were Hibari's weak spot?

When Hibari was paying for the pastries, Yamamoto walked in. "Yo, Tsuna! You can go for your lunch break now! I'll take over. Where's Hayato anyway? He's on this shift too right?"

Yamamoto looked around the patisserie to search for the familiar figure. "Eh? Does the shop look emptier than usual? Are there even customers?" He asked, highly puzzled.

Tsuna sweatdropped. _Can't you sense the scary aura coming from the person in front of me? _

"Hahahaha, I'm sure it's some game Boss is playing. Are you going for your break now?"

_So quick to dismiss the problem! Pray tell, why would anyone in their right mind chase away the customers of their shop? _Even after years of interacting with Yamamoto, Tsuna could never get over the weirdness of him.

Tsuna passed Hibari his change. "Thanks a lot, Takeshi. I'll be back soon. Oh, Hayato went out to settle some orders of materials, I think he will be back in around an hour?"

"Okay. See you later, Tsuna!"

"See you! Wait, Detective Hibari! Have you had your lunch?"

"No."

"Oh… do you want to have lunch with me, then? I know of a good Japanese restaurant nearby. My treat! Since I didn't get to give you free pastries. To thank you for saving me the other day."

"…"

Tsuna gave an eager smile. "I love the teriyaki chicken there, and it has extremely awesome Japanese desserts! Guaranteed the best in this area!"

"… Hn."

"Alright, let's go!"

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><p>—<em>Japanese Restaurant, <em>_Shokuyoku o sosoru_

"A table for two, please." Tsuna told the waiter.

As the two of the them settled down in the table near the window, the waiter passed the menus to them.

"What would you like to order?" The waiter politely asked.

Tsuna didn't even bother to check the menu. "One teriyaki chicken don, and strawberry mochi ice cream as dessert, please."

Hibari flipped through the menu. "Tanuki soba and green tea ice cream."

"Sure. Any drinks?"

Tsuna replied, "Just water will do."

They watched as the waiter left with their orders.

"So, you are still chasing down the assassin? What was his name? Ara– Arancione, was it?"

"Yes."

"Haven't caught him yet?"

"No." Hibari glared, and Tsuna decided not to stray into this topic again. Thank god the food came at this moment.

"Hmmm, it's really good." Tsuna said as he ate a mouthful of chicken.

Hibari didn't say anything, but Tsuna could tell that the soba was delicious for him too. "… But don't worry, I'm sure you will catch him soon."

"Herbivore—" Hibari started.

"Do call me Tsuna, that's what everyone calls me. Can I call you Kyoya? Do you mind?"

Hibari shot him a scathing look, but otherwise did not comment.

Tsuna beamed. _I'll take that as a yes then. _

"Shut up."

"Well, there's a saying that goes first time is chance, second is coincidence, and third is fate. So it must be fate that brought us together!"

"Fate." Hibari scoffed. "I don't believe in fate."

"Haha, whether you believe in it or not, if it exists, it will still exist."

"Your leg." Hibari suddenly said.

"My leg? Oh, my injuries are now better, don't worry. Thank you for your concern though." Tsuna flashed a dazzling smile. _I didn't know you cared._

Hibari 'hmph'ed and looked away.

_Such a kuudere!_

* * *

><p>"Thank you so much for the meal, Kyoya. It's been my pleasure to meet you, and thank you so much for saving me last time." Tsuna said before he went into the patisserie.<p>

When Tsuna went back to work, Hibari did not actually leave, but only observed from afar and out of sight as Tsuna worked, welcoming customers and helping them.

From the conversation they had over lunch (not really a conversation since it was quite one-sided), he could tell that Tsuna was really innocent, kind and cheerful, and it seemed unlikely for him to be an assassin. However, given years of practice, Hibari had a hunch that Tsuna was linked to the whole thing in some ways or another.

Now, Hibari would have to wait, but he was never known for his patience.

Arancione was difficult to catch, but Hibari would never let anyone escape him.

Hibari turned his attention back to Tsuna, his glare so sharp it could possibly burn a hole through him, and watched as Tsuna welcomed another customer with his customary smile that can blind eyes.

_Either Sawada Tsunayoshi was really innocent, or he was just a very good actor._

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><p><strong>AN: I might have forgotten to mention that this will not be a happy ending. Hmm. Next update will hopefully be in October…? **

**Note: **_**Pâtisserie du Ciel **_**translates to pastry (shop) of the sky/heaven (IMO), or pastry heaven, or so Google translate says. French is actually my third language. Well, what is a French shop doing in Italy? I don't know, international brand, probably. In canon, Hibari's favorite food is Japanese food. **

**Why is Tsuna so fluffy and sparkly? Er to convince the police that he is innocent, but um, I assure you that he won't be so '^-^' in the future. The real Tsuna is darker, but he's a good person inside and he still bears resemblance to the canon Tsuna, just slyer and things. **

**There was a quote from **_**V for Vendetta**_**.**

**Tsuna addresses everyone as their first names because they are in Italy? And I want Tsuna to call Hibari by his first name ASAP.**

**The Sky and his Sun will be updated after this. **

_**Shokuyoku o sosoru**_**: ****食欲をそそる****, ****appetizing**

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><p><span><strong>OMAKE<strong>

—_In the hospital, during the interrogation _

Tsuna blinked, innocence practically radiating from him.

Kusakabe blinked. Was he hallucinating or did Tsuna have really moe eyes that seemed to be on the verge of tears? Why were there sparkles?! He turned around subtly to see Hibari's reaction.

On the outside, Hibari seemed to be as calm as ever, but Kusakabe knew from experience that Hibari was affected, as his eyes were slightly twitching. Wait… didn't Hibari have a soft spot for… cute animals? This one in front of him was certainly cute enough.

This totally didn't bode well.


	3. Coffee and Cyanide

**A/N: I'm so sorry for being so late! **

**OOC, OOC everywhere D: It's so hard to keep them in character. I try my best. Tsuna's 100% OOC, I hope Hibari is more in character.**

**I'd like to thank my sister for beta-ing :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. **

_**Previously:**__ Tsuna got hurt trying to run away from Hibari, and they finally met. Afterwards, Hibari found Tsuna again and they go out to eat lunch together._

* * *

><p><em>Thud.<em>

The man fell to the ground from his chair in front of his study table. The man was Alain Lostaunau, a French businessman who settled down in Italy, and was a target of Arancione. After further investigation, the police found out that he was involved in human trafficking, which added on to the belief that Arancione chose certain victims to target, but Hibari couldn't care less about these details.

Lostaunau was in a supervised room, with his servants and police officers who were on duty, as well as Hibari. They were out to catch Arancione. It was the seventh day after the warning letter was sent, and they were all waiting for the assassin to strike, when suddenly the target fell to the ground.

There was a huge commotion as everyone rushed to the fallen man. The victim seemed to be suffocating as he wrapped his arms around his neck, desperately trying to breathe in air but he couldn't.

It was an ugly sight. The man was convulsing and he lost consciousness a few moments later, but his body was still struggling to breathe.

Hibari narrowed his eyes at the scene before him.

To him, the cause of his death was obvious. Poison.

Now, he had to find the source, which was… The coffee! It was brought in around ten minutes ago, if Hibari remembered correctly. The target only drank it a few minutes ago, and the results were immediate. Hibari brought the cup to his nose and sniffed it. As he had expected, there was a faint bitter-almond odour.

Hibari wanted to laugh at how cliché this whole assassination was. Of all poison, _cyanide_? Well, he'd admit that it was useful…

For cyanide, the effects occur almost instantly when it is swallowed, and the victim dies within fifteen minutes.

The servant who served the cup of coffee was the head butler, and Hibari doubted that it would be him as it would be too obvious.

The assassin was probably disguised as a servant, and managed to sneak in without being noticed to poison the coffee. Hibari had to admit that Arancione had outsmarted him again. As Arancione never actually used poison before – he was more of a weapons type of assassin as Hibari had noticed – Hibari subconsciously ruled out the possibility of him using poison.

Yet, Hibari was not as annoyed as he had thought he would be. He could tell that Arancione was being safe this time round, especially after the last time where he had very nearly caught him. No direct confrontation anymore, huh.

Hibari smirked inwardly. Well, at least he knew that he had somewhat pushed that assassin into a corner and out of his comfort zone. That was at least a bit satisfying.

Now, he had to search for the culprit, but… Hibari looked up and sighed in annoyance. _The assassin probably ran away a long time ago. _

Still, Hibari guessed it couldn't hurt to investigate the servants for a while, and see if he could get any leads at the moment. He stood up as pushed all the crowding herbivores away roughly, not caring if they were trying to save the poor victim on the floor.

Hibari scowled. "Don't bother. It's cyanide. He'll be dead in another… three minutes."

_Those brainless herbivores. Utterly useless. _

Hibari made his way to the kitchens and Kusakabe, upon noticing his departure, followed.

How Hibari hated that the stupid annoying assassin could always escape right under their noses. Ridiculous.

_When I find him, I'll bite him to death._

* * *

><p>Hibari – or rather Kusakabe, as Hibari watched – had interrogated all the servants in the Lostaunau house, and they all said that they didn't notice anything out of the norm.<p>

"Sir? What do you think?"

"No one is lying." Hibari replied.

"Then… how did the assassin put the poison in the coffee?"

Hibari glared at him. "He put it in." _Without them noticing. _

"Oh… okay."

Silence descended between them.

"Erm, sir?"

Hibari looked up.

"I just wanted to inform you that Mr. Sawada did not move from the patisserie during the time of murder."

Hibari looked away. "That doesn't make him any less of a suspect. Maybe he was just being cautious. I'm sure he can tell that we are watching him."

Kusakabe nodded. "Ah yes, of course, sir. So we will continue to supervise him?"

"Yes." Hibari then stood up and prepared to leave. "There's no point staying here any longer."

"Eh? Alright, let's go then, sir."

* * *

><p>Tsuna gave his hundred-watt smile to man sitting on the table before him. "Thanks a lot, Reborn."<p>

Reborn was as usual, unaffected. "I'm thinking of your punishment right now."

Tsuna blinked and panicked a little. _Eh? No! His punishments are always so horrible!_

"Ah, Reborn! Erm… I bought your favourite tiramisu…? And made espresso…"

Puppy eyes, puppy eyes! Though it might not work as well on Reborn, but Tsuna was sure that it had an effect to a certain extent. _Who _could resist the puppy eyes of Tsunayoshi Sawada? No one.

Reborn scoffed. "Hah, like I'm so going to get bribed by that cheap piece of cake and that pathetic cup of coffee! I'm the world's greatest hitman! My service deserves much more than that!"

"Haha… Yeah…" Tsuna scratched his head.

"And I have to resort to poison! Such disgrace! How are you going to repay me?"

"Reborn…" Tsuna pouted. "Just this once? I never asked you to do a job for me before. Consider this as my early birthday present?"

Tsuna pulled on Reborn's sleeve and continued, "Come on… This time I'm being supervised! You don't want me to go to jail, right? Furthermore, I'm hurt. You've got to let the injured rest for a while, but I can't refuse a job without looking suspicious. "

Reborn narrowed his eyes. "Who was the one who stabbed himself to get away from the police? What a joke! I told you not to get involved in politics, didn't I? Now look at what happened."

"But…"

"Who cares if that minister was involved in anything?"

Tsuna looked down.

"You're too kind-hearted for your own good! I knew you won't be able to survive this life."

Tsuna continued looking at his lap like there was something interesting there, not wanting to look at Reborn in the eye. What did Reborn want as an answer anyway?

"Whatever. Tell me, do you want to stop?"

Reborn's question made Tsuna snap his head up.

"No! I… Even though I hate killing people… I… I can't stop…"

Upon sensing Reborn's intense gaze, Tsuna looked away. "Tsuna…"

"No really, it's fine, Reborn. I'm fine."

"You're an adult now. Your life is your own decision."

Tsuna gave him a bright smile. "Thanks for everything."

_Did you know, Tsuna? Those who claim that they are fine are those who are most broken._

* * *

><p>The door to the patisserie opened and Tsuna looked up to find Hibari at the door.<p>

"Hello Kyoya, welcome! What do you want to buy today? Today's special is Bichon au citron. It is filled with lemon Bavarian cream. I assure you it is really nice! I also recommend our very own cannoli, cream horn and apple lattice. So what do you want to buy today?"

Tsuna gave his usual welcoming smile as he watched Hibari walked around to look for what he wanted.

Hibari had been coming regularly – as in everyday, without fail – after the first time he visited, and even though he did not voice it, Tsuna could tell that Hibari enjoyed the pastries very much.

After choosing the pastries he wanted, Hibari moved to the cashier to pay up.

"There you go, Kyoya." Tsuna said as he handed Hibari his bag of pastries. "Oh! Looks like you are the 300th customer! Congratulations! Here, you won this."

Hibari took the two pieces of paper Tsuna had given him and gave a closer look.

"What is this, herbivore?"

"You've won two tickets to the zoo! Didn't you see the promotion poster outside the shop? Lucky customers stand to win attractive prizes!"

Hibari pushed the tickets on the counter back to Tsuna. "I don't want them."

"Eh? But you won it, Kyoya! It's rude to refuse presents, no?"

"…" Hibari glared. "Don't make me repeat myself."

"Why?"

"I don't want to go to the zoo."

"Who wouldn't want to go to the zoo? Is it because Kyoya has no one to go with? I can go with you! Haven't been to the zoo in a while, after all."

The moment after Tsuna said that, Tsuna blinked. _Eh? Why did I say that again? Since when do I want to go to zoo with Kyoya Hibari?_

"… And there will be carnivores too you know. You like carnivores, right?"

"… Okay."

"Really? That's great! See you there on Saturday at 9 a.m., okay?"

Tsuna waved Hibari goodbye as he walked out of the shop, still wondering what on earth he had gotten himself into.

* * *

><p>—<em>The Zoo<em>

"So Kyoya, where do you want to go first? Lions? Tigers? The lions' enclosure is very near. Let's go see that first, okay?"

Tsuna didn't wait for Hibari's response and grabbed Hibari's hand to pull him there. He seemed pretty excited to go to the zoo for an adult.

"Oh my god, look! They have a lion cub! Isn't that just cute?" Tsuna cooed at the lion cub that sadly, ignored him as it was sleeping. "Aww… I want to hug it."

Hibari raised his eyebrows at that. Lion cubs are still lions, and they are definitely dangerous.

Speaking of which… "Herbivore, let go."

"Eh?" Tsuna looked at their intertwined hands. "Oh! Sorry! I guess I was too excited, haha."

Tsuna blushed a little and let go. "So are the lions interesting?"

"Hn."

"I thought you would be interested. With you going 'herbivore', 'herbivore' everyday like everyone's some lowly being, I was sure you would like carnivores."

"Carnivores are strong."

"Yeah. Hey Kyoya, where do you want to go next? Let's see, there birds are nearby. Do you want to go?"

Hibari nodded.

"Okay!"

When they reached the bird enclosure, Tsuna thought it wasn't such a good idea to bring Hibari there after all, for the birds really liked Hibari a lot. They literally flocked to him, which had made Tsuna jumped in surprise. After a few minutes, he managed to get used to birds circling and landing on Hibari and some even on Tsuna. Since he knew that the birds meant no harm, Tsuna just smiled with much awkwardness and was thinking of ways to escape the place.

"Birds seem to like you a lot, right Kyoya?" Tsuna asked. "It's kind of scary." He mumbled under his breath.

Then again, Tsuna thought Hibari with so many birds was quite an interesting sight. He somehow wished that he had a camera with him, though he doubted that Hibari would have let him take a photo anyway.

"I have a bird at home." That piqued Tsuna's interest. Honestly, Hibari didn't strike him as someone who likes animals, not to mention someone who keeps them as pets.

"Oh really? What breed? Does it have a name?"

"Yellow canary. He's called Hibird."

"Hi… Pfft!" Tsuna covered his mouth to stop his laugh from escaping. "I'm sorry, Hibird? Haha no, I mean, what a cute name!"

"Herbivore…" Hibari turned to glare at him and his aura was scary enough to scare away the birds and send a shiver down Tsuna's spine. "Are you doubting my pet-naming skills?"

Tsuna gave a nervous laugh. "Hah? No, no, of course not! Really! It's a nice name! Nice name…" _Pet-naming skills? He's weird…_

"I'll bite you to death."

"Kyoya!" Tsuna raised his hands in alarm to try and stop Hibari. "Ah! Do you want to go somewhere else next? Let's go… let's go see the hedgehogs."

"Fine. I'll bite you to death later."

They walked a short distance to the hedgehog enclosure. "Oh my god! They're so cute! Awww~ I just want to hug them… or not." Tsuna exclaimed while pulling Hibari along.

"Small animals." Hibari mumbled.

Tsuna tore his attention from the hedgehogs to Hibari, "Sorry, what did you say? I didn't quite catch that." He was so engrossed in watching the hedgehogs sniffling around that he didn't notice what Hibari was saying.

"Nothing."

"So? They're very cute, right?"

"Yes."

"Eh?" Tsuna's eyes widened in surprise. "I thought you weren't going to admit it."

"Small animals are cute."

Tsuna just laughed. "Say Kyoya, do you perhaps… like small, cute animals? That's so cute! Cute animal fetish? Hah!"

Hibari narrowed his eyes at Tsuna. "Herbivore, how many times are you going to laugh today? I'll bite you to death."

"EH? No, wait, Kyoya, no, that's not– that's not a good idea! You'll disturb the hedgehogs if you bite me to death here!"

"Then go somewhere else."

"Ah, no, that's not a very good idea either… Oh! Can you hear my stomach growling? It's almost lunchtime, right? Let's go eat! I think I know a very good restaurant here. You will have more strength after we eat right? You can bite me to death later, hahaha…"

Hibari wanted to bite out something else, but Tsuna cut in before then. "Come on! You can't bite others with an empty stomach!"

Hibari's hands were itching horribly to take out his tonfas and bite Tsuna to death, but he still allowed Tsuna to pull him to the restaurant anyway.

* * *

><p>After they finished their lunch in a restaurant inside the zoo, they continued to explore the zoo. Hibari had to admit that the meal was good, and he was pretty full. Now he didn't feel like biting anyone to death, and it was probably what Tsuna had planned and wanted all along.<p>

They walked around the zoo, sometimes going for the animal performances, sometimes simply walking by the enclosures. Hibari watched as Tsuna chattered non-stop, excited like a five-year-old kid on his first trip to the zoo. Normally Hibari would bite that noisy person to death, but somehow Tsuna wasn't as annoying.

Instead, Hibari felt like he wanted to laugh at how fascinated Tsuna was over the animals, but of course he didn't laugh.

There was something else Hibari noticed. For a herbivore, Tsuna didn't seem as afraid of him as he should be. A normal person simply could not stand to be with Hibari Kyoya in close proximity for so many hours, and act like he still had a lot of fun.

Even though there were times where Tsuna seemed a bit timid when Hibari was highly pissed, Tsuna always managed to talk to him again like he was a normal person.

When Hibari voiced his thoughts, Tsuna just laughed and said, "Would you believe me if I said I knew someone as scary as you? He really scared me when I was young, but now that I know him better I realised that he is a nice person, and even though he doesn't say it, I can tell that he really cares for me a lot."

Tsuna tilted his head and continued, "I guess you two are kind of similar?"

Hibari narrowed his eyes at the herbivore. Was he implying that he was _nice_, of all things?

"Ah! No, I mean..." Tsuna stuttered as he realised what he had just said might annoy the detective, "Er... I got used to the scary aura?"

That statement… Hibari didn't know how to reply to that. _I'll bite you to death? _

"Fine. But why would you want to go to the zoo with me?"

Tsuna scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "I'm not quite sure either. I guess I just didn't want to waste the tickets?"

"Pathetic."

"Is it? I guess it is."

Tsuna looked unaffected as ever, and turned his attention to something else. "Oh! Otters! Let's go see them!"

And that was how Tsuna managed to pull the scary, unapproachable Kyoya Hibari around the whole zoo and visit every single animal inside and miraculously come out unscathed. "Please don't tell me it's your first time coming to the zoo?"

"No." Well, even the great Hibari had a childhood visiting zoos.

"That's good to know. Thank you so much, Kyoya! I had so much fun today! I–"

_I didn't expect to have this much fun, to be honest, and you were surprisingly good company, _was what Tsuna wanted to say, but he – thankfully – managed to swallow the words back at the last minute. Who knows what Hibari would do when he heard that. The day was ending, and Tsuna really didn't want to go home with bruises and cuts all over his body.

"Ah, I mean, we should go out together again, no?"

"I'd rather not, herbivore." Hibari frowned. The day was horrible enough, and he didn't need another one like this. People were crowding, Tsuna was too talkative, now he just wanted to go back and take a nap.

"Don't be like that Kyoya, I'll get hurt." Tsuna faked a hurt expression and pouted, which Hibari thought it was pretty heartbreaki–, erm no, well done.

"I should get going soon. See you tomorrow at the shop, then!" Tsuna waved goodbye as they parted at the exit of the zoo. "Thank you so much for today, really!"

Hibari didn't bother to acknowledge him, and simply watched in silence as Tsuna's figure became smaller and smaller until it disappeared in the distance.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'll be back soon, I'm free nowadays. Hopefully I can update weekly and finish this by the end of this year, but I'm feeling lazyyy. I think my procrastination skills improved rather than my writing skills. Need motivation T^T It's okay, I'm sure your favs and follows and reviews will motivate me so I'll be posting this first :D Let's hope I can finish the next chapter soon. **

**Sorry if this is going at a slow pace but you know they don't trust each other; so the only way for them to get together is that they fall in love before even realizing anything, and when they did it's already too late. Haha.(Morbid me)  
><strong>

**Credits to fmwriters dot com for information on cyanide.**


	4. Standing in front of me

**A/N: Well pardon me for the use of honorifics, I do try to minimize the usage.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own KHR.**

_**Previously: **__Tsuna managed to ask Reborn to poison the target. Hibari and Tsuna went to the zoo together._

* * *

><p>It had been a week since Hibari stopped visiting the patisserie. On the first day Tsuna didn't really pay it any mind, as he was too busy tending to the customers to actually care about the detective. Well, even Hibari had off days, Tsuna guessed, and left it at that.<p>

The next day, Tsuna thought about it even more. Hibari liked the pastries here a lot, so he doubted that he will stop coming so suddenly.

As the days went by, Tsuna had to admit that he was getting more worried. He wondered, _did Hibari get sick of the pastries? _After all, at the rate he was eating them, a normal person would have gotten sick long ago, so that was highly possible.

Was Tsuna disappointed that he didn't come?

Then he started to think, _did something bad happen to him? Did he get injured, or worse, killed?_

Tsuna didn't get why he was worried; Hibari was, after all, a detective after _him_, so wouldn't it be better if something did happen to him? Tsuna sighed at the complexity of life.

On the seventh day though, Tsuna debated with himself whether he should go to the police station to ask about Hibari.

"Tsu-chan! What are you spacing out for?" A mop of white hair suddenly came into his sights, shaking him out of his reverie.

"Oh sorry, boss! Um, sorry, I didn't notice I was not paying attention." Tsuna bowed. "But what are you doing here today?

In front of him was the boss of the shop, Byakuran, with his usual smile on his face. Byakuran actually shared the role of the boss with Yuni, and the shop had two owners.

"What kind of question is that, my dear Tsu-chan? I'm here every day! And didn't I tell you not to call me boss?"

"Ah, sorry. Well, somehow I don't see you very often…"

"So…" Byakuran leaned in closer to Tsuna's face. "What is Tsu-chan thinking about today? It's pretty rare to see you spacing out during work, you know."

Tsuna moved a few steps back from Byakuran's intruding face and looked away. "Not… Nothing much."

"Tsu-chan, it's not good to lie, you know? Is Tsu-chan… perhaps… in love? Aww, my Tsu-chan is all grown up now!" Byakuran clapped and rubbed his hands together in glee.

Tsuna's head snapped up in alarm. "What? No, of course I'm not! Whatever gave you that idea?"

Byakuran scares him sometimes, Tsuna thought.

"Constantly thinking of a person is the first sign of love, Tsu-chan! If you need any more love advice, you're always welcome to talk to me! I wonder though, who can catch little Tsu-chan's heart! Don't tell me… It's that scary looking person who came here to buy pastries every single day and only actually talked to you and stopped coming seven days ago!" Byakuran gave an all-knowing and mischievous smile. "Well, he's good-looking but… Your taste is kind of weird, Tsu-chan!"

"Byakuran! Can you stop this kind of speculations? It's embarrassing!" Tsuna was a little flustered. "And how the hell did you know that he stopped coming seven days ago? Are you some kind of creepy stalker?"

"I know _everything_, Tsu-chan." Byakuran gave Tsuna a wink, which gave Tsuna goose bumps all over his body. So he didn't deny the fact that he was a creepy stalker? Figures.

"But you _were_ thinking of him, weren't you?"

Tsuna sighed and nodded in defeat. Nothing actually escapes Byakuran. "Well, he didn't come for seven days, so naturally I was worried. I would be worried for anyone else too!"

"Of course, of course." Byakuran flashed another blinding smile, but lowered his voice a little as he scooted closer to Tsuna. "You do realize that he's a detective, right? That line of work… is dangerous."

Tsuna's gaze turned harder in an instant. "Yeah, I'm aware. There's… nothing between us, really."

Tsuna had caught on to the double meaning behind Byakuran's words. The fact that being a detective was dangerous to Hibari, and at the same time, dangerous to Tsuna if he got closer.

Byakuran just reached out to ruffle Tsuna's hair with his hand. "Whatever you say, Tsu-chan. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Ah, okay."

After Byakuran left (by skipping joyously away while humming a song), Tsuna was left tending to the shop alone once more. It was an off-peak hour for him, and there weren't a lot of people in the shop at the moment. He didn't get his peace and quiet for long though, as another employee came to disturb – I meant talk to – Tsuna.

"Tsunayoshi~" Tsuna felt a sense of déjà vu as he faced a man with blue hair tied in a pony tail and heterochromatic eyes.

"Hey, Mukuro."

Mukuro jumped forward and latched his arms around Tsuna's neck. "I heard you were in love, Tsunayoshi! How could you?"

"And who did you hear that from, may I know?" Tsuna frowned, annoyed.

"Who else? That marshmallow bastard, of course! He was practically prancing around singing 'Tsu-chan is in love! Tsu-chan is in love!' and Tsunayoshi didn't tell me anything?"

Tsuna gritted his teeth. _That Byakuran! Of all things… I'm going to kill you!_

"I'm not! Don't listen to Byakuran, for god's sake! I would think that Mukuro of all people will know better than to believe him."

"Of course I don't! But even Byakuran doesn't say such things without there being some grain of truth to it! So who is he?"

Tsuna tried to drag Mukuro's arms away from him to stop him from suffocating to death. "I said, there's no one I'm interested in! Plus, what do you mean by 'he'! How would you know that I would like a 'him'!"

"I just know." Mukuro's grip got tighter. "Is it the annoying guy who comes every day until seven days ago?"

"Hah? How did you know that too? What's wrong with you guys?" Tsuna's jaw dropped. Why were the people around him always so weird? Tsuna wanted to cry.

"I keep track of everyone who poses a threat to me! That guy seems utterly suspicious! Did he come every day just to look at you?"

"No! Seriously, there's nothing going on between Kyoya and me! Argh!" Tsuna sounded really exasperated, and was highly tempted to throw his hand up in the air, or better, throw Mukuro out of the shop.

"'Kyoya'? You even know his name! And you guys are even on first-name basis! Honestly, that's really suspicious. How can you do this to me, Tsunayoshi? Have you already gone on a date with him?"

Tsuna rolled his eyes at Mukuro's over-dramatic antics. "Why don't you just go back to your work Mukuro, instead of inquiring about my love life, or lack thereof." In his mind, he was telling himself that that was_ not_ a date, damn it, and he shouldn't show any signs of them actually hanging out together lest Mukuro pester him even more.

"Tsu~na~yo~shi! So mean!" Mukuro pouted, but let Tsuna go anyway. If he held on any longer, Tsuna would surely get angry, and an angry Tsuna was someone even Byakuran would be scared of.

Tsuna frowned as he watched Mukuro walk away, wondering why on earth was everyone asking him about his love life.

He didn't think that he liked Hibari, and at the very most they were friends. Man, Tsuna couldn't even say they were friends, with the other person being Hibari. Did he have friends, even?

No matter. Whether they were friends or not, they won't be together as a couple. Tsuna was pretty sure that Hibari was asexual or something.

As for Tsuna…

What lover?

Tsuna bit his lip. He wasn't supposed to fall in love with anyone anyway. He couldn't fall in love.

* * *

><p>So why exactly was Hibari missing for seven days?<p>

He was actually sent away to deal with another case, since Arancione did not have much activity for the moment, and it wasn't really convenient to drop by the patisserie as usual.

At this very second, he was experiencing a sense of déjà vu as he chased a criminal on the streets.

So why did criminals nowadays like to run in the streets so much?

He did not sign up as a detective just to chase people – in the literal sense – around the streets and crowding with other herbivores walking on the streets. It was annoying.

Just as he was closing in to that person, however, the criminal suddenly whipped out a gun and grabbed an old lady passer-by by the neck. He pointed the gun to her head, obviously planning to hold her hostage.

"Don't move any closer! I'll shoot her!"

Hibari stopped around a hundred meters away from the man just in time and sighed. A headache was coming and he really wanted to bite the man to death.

* * *

><p>Tsuna was having a relatively normal day. There were no jobs to do for the time being, and Hibari was still missing, but he gave up worrying about him.<p>

He was on the way home, when a man suddenly rushed past him, pushing him out of his way.

Tsuna stumbled a little, and when he looked up, he saw the very rude man pointing a gun to an old lady's head.

"Don't move any closer! I'll shoot her!"

Tsuna didn't bother to turn back to see who the man was talking to, he just wanted to help the poor old lady who was so in shock that she couldn't speak properly and looked like she was on the verge of a heart attack. Without thinking, he stepped forward and shouted, "Hey you! What do you think you are doing?"

The man turned his attention to Tsuna – all the other passers-by have already scrammed to avoid getting hurt – and pointed the gun in his direction. "Don't come closer or I'll shoot!"

"Tch." Honestly, this kind of small fry was not threatening at all…

"Herbivore." Tsuna was moving forward to grab the man's hand, only to stop abruptly when he heard the familiar voice.

Wh… at? _Shit!_

Why the hell was Hibari here? He didn't see him just now!

Tsuna mentally cursed in his mind and he was still paused in his motion. He knew he couldn't look skilled in front of him, or else his identity as an assassin would be exposed, as normal people aren't supposed to have such good reflexes… Damn it.

Before Tsuna could do anything, everything happened all at once.

Hibari caught sight of Tsuna and took a step forward, the criminal panicked as Tsuna and Hibari unknowingly moved closer to him, then his hand slipped and pressed the trigger, Tsuna spent too long debating whether he should dodge and risk his identity being exposed…

Tsuna was pretty much prepared to get severely injured once more, but before he knew it, he was sent crashing to the ground.

… What?

There was a sound of bullet piercing through flesh, then a hiss from someone. Tsuna finally managed to look up after the impact onto the floor, and he saw Hibari grabbing his left arm and blood was flowing out.

Hibari… he… pushed him away? And got shot himself?

… Why?

It was probably not the best time to go into shock for Tsuna, but that was exactly what he did, because he couldn't fathom… he couldn't understand…

(Well on the bright side, he is keeping up with the appearance of 'ordinary citizen who has never seen a gun before' by going into shock.)

Hibari didn't seem to be that affected by the gunshot, for he had surely encounter this kind of incidents before, after all. Thank god it was not his right hand, as he fought better with his right arm. The criminal must be wondering what kind of monster Hibari was by being so unaffected by a gunshot wound, and in mere seconds he managed to apprehend the man.

Hibari had hit the man's hand, loosening his grip on the gun, kicked the gun away, pulled him away from the poor old lady, then pushed him onto the ground with his hands behind his back, handcuffing him.

Backup had arrived shortly after, and the man was brought into a police car and paramedics were helping Hibari with his wound. Tsuna was tended to too, given a shock blanket and all.

Tsuna was perfectly fine, except maybe getting a bruise or cut from being pushed to the ground so roughly, but it was definitely better than getting shot by a gun. Speaking of which, he needed to thank Hibari.

"Kyoya! You…" _Why did you… Why did you…?_

Hibari looked up. "Herbivore."

"I'm so sorry, Kyoya. Are you okay? Shouldn't you be going to the hospital?"

"… I'll have to get the bullet removed."

"Let me go to the hospital with you!"

Hibari could see Tsuna biting his lip in worry, and didn't protest. (So Tsuna wasn't supposed to tag along but the death glare Hibari could give even after being shot left everyone with no choice.)

On the ambulance, they were still trying to stop the bleeding from Hibari's arm.

"The wound looks deep…"

"It's just a graze, herbivore." Hibari thought that Tsuna looked like he was on the verge of crying. For god's sake, the one being injured was him, and he wasn't going to cry! He had suffered worse than this, even if this was a little painful.

"I'm so sorry! If I hadn't interfered… You might not have been injured… It's all my fault! You shouldn't have saved me."

Hibari didn't know what to answer to that. Should he console him? But how does one console others anyway?

"I'm fine."

"I… thank you, Kyoya. Thank you for saving me. I'm sorry…"

"I'm fine."

And Tsuna didn't say anything else.

* * *

><p>—<em>Hospital<em>

Hibari was sleeping after the surgery, and Tsuna was hovering beside his bed.

Logically, Tsuna knew that such a wound would not have been life-threatening, but he couldn't help but worry a little.

Tsuna had to say, bluntly, that he was touched, for Hibari to take the bullet for him like that. No one had actually done that for him. Reborn? Ha, he would probably let him get shot – provided that he was the one who was the cause of the whole incident – then let him have more training before he was fully recovered.

Tsuna should actually be rejoicing for the death of Hibari, but he just didn't have the heart to do so. Honestly, Hibari was as close to him as any other friend already, and no matter how cold-hearted Tsuna can be, he could never actually be happy over the death of a friend.

Tsuna pondered over a lot over the period Hibari was sleeping. His mind was still confused, a jumbled mess of thoughts, while his heart was beating erratically, as if the adrenaline rush was still not over.

He didn't understand himself, didn't understand Hibari, didn't understand how the world actually works.

He really shouldn't be feeling so bad, but his chest kind of hurt when Hibari took the bullet for him. Even if Hibari didn't say anything, the wound must have had hurt a lot…

Anyway, Hibari had said not to make any noise while he slept, and it was time to put his assassin skills to use.

Despite that, Hibari still woke up after a short nap, and when his eyes opened, the first thing he saw was Tsuna staring down at him.

"Herbivore. Were you staring at me the whole time?"

"Not… really… Do you want some water? Something to eat?"

"Water."

Tsuna stood up to pour him a glass of water, and handed it to him.

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

Tsuna bit his lip again, and Hibari thought he should really get rid of that habit before his lip starts bleeding.

"I'm sorry."

"Then why did you have to get involved?"

"I… I've learnt self-defense before, and I really wanted to help the old lady… but…"

"Once a herbivore, always a herbivore."

"Then why did you have to save me? It could have been your heart! It's just a few centimeters away."

Hibari closed his eyes. "I'm fine."

Tsuna sighed, and wondered if Hibari was simply putting on a brave front. Perhaps not, as he had to admit that Hibari was indeed very strong. "Do you want something to eat? I'll peel an apple for you."

Hibari watched as Tsuna took a knife and started peeling with intense concentration.

Hibari wondered too, why he had an urge to protect Tsuna and he didn't know.

"There."

Hibari took the apple from him and ate it in silence.

"I'll look after you until you recover." Tsuna said with a very serious-looking face. "You'll be my responsibility from today onwards."

Hibari looked as Tsuna fussed over him and took care of him, pulling the blanket and patting him. There was a certain tone in his voice that Hibari didn't have the heart to refute. Well, he guessed sometimes it was nice to be looked after? Even though herbivores annoy him.

"Catch some more sleep, Kyoya, I'll watch over you."

"Hn."

Tsuna watched as Hibari's eyes closed, and after several minutes his breathing started to even out, chest rising and falling at a steady speed. Hibari's sleeping face was so peaceful, so peaceful that it felt like he was never going to wake up, and Tsuna just felt the slightest twinge of fear.

Tsuna continued watching him for some time, before suddenly covering his face with his palms in frustration, mind going back to what Byakuran had said.

_Please don't tell me that… I've fallen in love already._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Such a horrible chapter… -.- I lost my inspiration once more. **

**For the guest who asked why I chose orange, cause orange is Tsuna's colour, isn't it? (His sky flames) **


	5. The Bridge of Sighs

**A/N: ;n; **

**Warning: OOC. **

**Disclaimer: Still never been to Italy T^T and don't own KHR. **

_**Previously: **__Mukuro and Byakuran enquired Tsuna on his love life. Hibari 'saved' Tsuna from getting shot but at the cost of getting injured himself. Tsuna felt as if his mind was in disarray._

* * *

><p>It was dark in the room. A cloaked and masked man stood in front of a man in suit who was sitting at his study table.<p>

"Here are the details of the target." The man in suit pushed the file towards the cloaked man. "Doesn't matter when he gets killed, as long as he dies."

The man then smirked. "Not like the famous Arancione would fail, would he?"

Arancione didn't reply, only taking the file from the mahogany desk.

After flipping and skimming through, a deep voice came from him, "He's in charge of your rival company, then?"

The man chuckled. "Indeed. He had disposed of the evidence, but I am sure that he is involved in embezzlements of funds, bribery and…" His eyes darkened and killing intent leaked out of him, "… murders."

Arancione noticed the change but did not comment. Instead, he just nodded. "I will take this case. Please await the good results. I'll contact you regarding payment later."

The man stood up, wanting to shake Arancione's hand, but the latter had already disappeared. He smirked, and went back to sip his coffee.

_Kill or be killed. _That was how the world worked.

* * *

><p>Tsuna was in Venice. Why was he in Venice? Assassin-related errands to run.<p>

He had never expected to run into Hibari though.

"Eh? Kyoya? Is that you?" Tsuna was walking on the streets, and noticed a guy who looked a lot like Hibari in his suit.

"Herbivore." Hibari turned around and saw him. "Why are you here?"

"That's what I want to ask you too." Tsuna tilted his head to one side.

"I just had some work at the police headquarters." Hibari looked slightly irritated.

"Ah… I came here to visit my friend." Tsuna smiled. "Is everything alright?"

"The herbivores are still as annoying and brainless as ever." Hibari narrowed his eyes, and Tsuna laughed at his reaction while trying to cover up with his hand.

"But… it's quite a coincidence for us to run into each other, right? Haha."

"Hn."

"Are you going anywhere later? Maybe we can go tour Venice together. I haven't been here in a long time! It's good to relax once in a while, no?" Tsuna patted Hibari on the shoulder.

"I hate crowding."

"Eh? Don't be such a spoilsport! How about we go take a gondola? That's not crowding, right? Or eat dinner at some secluded place? I think I know of a good restaurant!"

"More than two people is considered crowding."

"Hah? Serious?" Tsuna widened his eyes. "That's a bit too…"

"Shut up, herbivore, I'm going back to the hotel."

"Wait~! It's so lonely going around with just myself! I can treat you to dinner later, okay? We can watch the sunset together on the gondola. Ain't that romantic?"

Hibari shot him a weird look with Tsuna grabbing on to his sleeve. He sighed. Sometimes that herbivore was too adamant for his own good.

* * *

><p>"Having a ride, sirs?" The gondolier asked the both of them.<p>

"Yes, please! We want to see the sunset together." Tsuna replied while smiling warmly and paying the gondolier. "And I'll pay for the whole boat, because this man beside me-" He pointed to Hibari, "-hates crowds. Thanks."

"Sure, sure." The gondolier took the money, and helped the both of them to climb onto the gondolier. "Have a nice ride."

After the two settled down comfortably on the gondola, the gondolier asked, "First time here, sirs?"

"Not really. I've been here a couple of times in the past, but it's been quite a while since I last came." Tsuna replied.

"Any places you want to visit?"

"No… Anywhere is fine." Tsuna turned to Hibari who was glaring at the waters and the passing gondolas like they owe him a living, and asked, "What about you, Kyoya?"

Hibari conveniently ignored him.

Tsuna gave an awkward laugh. "Don't mind him, he has always been like this."

"You guys want to go to the Bridge of Sighs to watch sunset, right?"

"Eh? The Bridge of Sighs? Why?" Tsuna asked, bemused.

"Didn't you know? It's our local legend! If a couple kiss on a gondola at sunset under the Bridge of Sighs as the bells of St Mark's Campanile toll, they will be forever bonded together and their love will be eternal."

Tsuna's mouth dropped at the implication and turned a little red. "Eh? … Eh?! You misunderstood! We're not-"

The gondolier winked at them. "Don't be shy, I've seen a lot of couples done that already."

"No, we're really not-"

"Herbivore, are we done yet?" Hibari was becoming more and more irritated by the moment, not caring what the small talks were about.

"Kyoya! Er…" Before Tsuna could say anything else, the gondolier had already sped them off to the Bridge of Sighs.

"Don't worry, we'll reach there before sunset." The gondola reassured them.

"... Ah… I really don't think-"

"There, we've reached." The gondolier interrupted. "There are a lot of gondolas today, I might knock onto others, so please be caref-"

"They are crowding. I will bite them to death." Hibari's level of irritation peaked when they were in the middle of noisy couples, each on different gondolas, waiting for the bell to toll.

Tsuna immediately stood up to stop Hibari from doing anything funny. "Wait, please don't!"

Then Tsuna told the gondolier while lugging Hibari back, "Sorry, can we please get out of here? He really hates crowds…"

"Are you sure?" The gondolier looked down at his watch. "Just bear with it for a while. The bell is going to toll in a few-"

"Wait, Kyoya! Stop moving before I knock you out!"

Hibari was already on the verge of taking out his tonfas and biting everyone on site to death, and turned back to glare at Tsuna. "Herbivore, you-"

Just as Hibari was going to say something and both of them were still struggling, another gondola bumped into them and resulted in them bumping into another gondola and losing their balance…

That was how they fell and kissed under the Bridge of Sighs as the bells of St Mark's Campanile toll.

A moment of silence ensued.

The gondolier smiled as if bragging, _See, I told you I was right_.

Tsuna blushed so hard that his whole face became beet red because that's the only reaction he could do at the moment.

Hibari…

Hibari was on top of Tsuna. His expression cannot be explained. It was pretty much the same as usual, but he was stiff and full of awkwardness.

"Kyoya… Do you mind… Getting off… You're really heavy…"

Both of them finally reacted after a few minutes.

"..." Hibari managed to get up.

"So are you going anywhere else, sirs?" The gondoliers asked.

Both of glared at him.

"... I'll... take that as a 'no'?" The gondolier backed away a little. "Haha… We're going back right away, sirs, right away!"

Thus ended the -_cough_- uneventful -_cough_-day, with Tsuna treating Hibari to dinner at a small but homely restaurant, both having things weighing heavily on their mind.

* * *

><p><em>Do you believe in fate? The fate that brought us together, and the same fate that pulled us apart? <em>

_Do you believe that we were fated to meet, yet fated to be on opposite sides in the end? _

_Sometimes I want to ask... why is fate so cruel to us._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for late and short and slow chapter :/ Was busy with something called life. But please be reassured that I'm not going to abandon this. Orz**

**I thank you all for giving me time and supporting me while I think of ways to structure and write this story the way I wanted to at first. **

**I don't know how they are going to start dating… ._.'' but I planned the ending plus epilogue already, heh.**


	6. Behind the Mask

**A/N: Tsuna's tragic past OvO okay I don't know how much a four-year-old can do. Sorry for late update Orz.**

**Warning for gore? Not really, but there is a death scene and some trauma. Kind of dark. A lot of mentions of blood.**

* * *

><p>What is death?<p>

Is it like sleeping, just that you never wake up?

What is red?

Is it the blood that never stops flowing, and can never be washed off from your hands and mind?

What is pain?

Is it calling to your parents so many times, yet they would never respond?

Can a four-year-old understand all these?

When your parents are brutally murdered in front of you, yes.

* * *

><p><em>I can't breathe. <em>

"Boy, can you hear me?" The man with fedora bent down in front of the cupboard and asked the small, quivering boy inside.

Even though there was no sign of anyone being in the cupboard, instincts gained from years as a hitman told him that the boy he was looking for was right inside the cupboard. He could taste the fear from the presence in the cupboard, and it was amazing the killers did not notice.

_What happened? Who is he? _

"Tsunayoshi, was it? Sawada Iemitsu and Nana's son?" The voice reached the little boy's ears. The boy hiding inside the cupboard shook, not sure if it was due to hearing his own name or his parents', and knocked something over resulting in a resounding 'crash'.

The man in fedora noticed and confirmed that the boy was inside.

_Mum? Dad? Where are you?_

"I'm their acquaintance. They asked me to look after you. Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you." The man continued in a soft and gentle voice, as if talking to a small, startled animal. Or at least it was as gentle as he could, he mentally sighed. He was a hitman for god's sake, he kills for a living, not babysits.

"... M- Mum?" The little boy finally spoke, but it was so soft the man nearly missed if not for his well-trained ears.

The man let out a small sigh of relief. At least the boy was speaking now, and that was an improvement right? He wasn't trained for comforting people, for heaven's sake! Now, if someone could tell when would be the right time to open the cupboard door without traumatizing the kid much further?

"... Dad? Wh- where...?"

"Everything's alright. Your mother and father... Well... They... went to heaven. They are okay."

_Liar! I saw them… Mum and Dad… They were… They were… there… right there… _

"Is it okay if I open the door? I'm not going to hurt you, alright?" The man in fedora said, hiding his own impatience, for he wanted to leave this room that reeked with the stench of blood as soon as possible. He didn't like the smell of blood, even though it was way too familiar for him due to his line of work.

"..."

Hearing no reply from the little boy, the man decided to wait a little while more before opening the door.

"Your parents… They asked me to take care of you. I know what you've seen and heard is really scary, but your parents' last wish is for you to be happy."

… _Happy? Mum, Dad, are you happy now? But… Mum was screaming… She sounded like she was in pain… There were a few loud bangs… When I peeked, even though she asked me not to, there was so much… red… Is she happy now? Dad? Where's dad? I can't hear his voice anymore… _

"Come on… We have to leave soon. I'll take you to somewhere safe, so don't worry, okay?"

_Safe… Are… are my parents there?_

The little boy slowly pushed open the cupboard door and peeked at the man wearing a fedora in front of him.

"Who... Who are... you?" The boy asked with a quivering voice, a bit intimidated by the man's aura, but he couldn't sense any ill intent.

"Reborn."

* * *

><p>"No!" Tsuna woke up with a jolt and sat up in his bed, perspiration glistening on his face.<p>

It was that dream again, and Tsuna could still feel the fear and adrenaline flowing through his veins even after he had woken up.

"You alright?" Tsuna's bedroom door opened, and a man who was running his hand over his own black spiky hair came in. "Heard you screaming."

"Reborn..." Tsuna called, "I'm fine." He then looked down and saw his hands shaking, and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

The man named Reborn raised one of his eyebrow, obviously sceptical, but left it at that. Reborn was wearing comfortable sleeping clothes, a button-up long-sleeve and pants, but Tsuna could still feel his ever-present aura and it was amazing that Reborn could look classy in such casual clothes.

It had been five years since Tsuna started living with Reborn, ever since that incident.

Nightmare was a common recurring event for him, something that he was used to, yet never comfortable with.

Reborn leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms and staring at the slightly panting Tsuna, before walking out of the room. He came back in a few minutes later, whilst carrying a cup of warm milk with honey with him, and passed it to Tsuna.

Tsuna looked up when the cup was handed to him. "Thanks." He grasped it and took a sip.

"The same dream again?" Reborn inquired.

Tsuna nodded, and did not say anything else.

"Perhaps you should see a therapist." Reborn suggested.

Tsuna shook his head. He knew that it wouldn't help.

Tsuna looked up when he realised that Reborn was not returning to his room. Reborn was looking at him, and Tsuna stared right back.

Tsuna knew that Reborn was a hitman. The job of a hitman was to kill. Kill people like his parents.

Reborn never did try to hide the fact after Tsuna got out of shock. Tsuna was told that his father Iemitsu was part of the mafia, too, and it was an enemy famiglia that wanted to kill off the Sawada family.

At first Tsuna didn't want to talk to Reborn, and Reborn didn't actually want to care for him either. Reborn told him explicitly that if he hadn't promised Iemitsu and Nana he would take care of their son he would have thrown Tsuna into the streets already.

Reborn later gave Tsuna a photo of his parents for him to keep. While holding the piece of paper in his trembling hand like a lifeline, glancing up and into Reborn's obsidian eyes, Tsuna knew that Reborn wasn't as bad as he seemed to be.

Reborn also told Tsuna that he was supposed to send Tsuna to Nana's distant family after it got safer, but they never exactly talked about it again and it stayed that way. Tsuna got used to living with Reborn, and thought there was no need to move to another place with strangers he had never met previously. Before long, Tsuna became a permanent residence of Reborn's house.

Sometimes Tsuna hated it. Hated how he was dependent on Reborn.

"Do you ever want to get revenge?" Reborn suddenly broke the staring contest and the silence in the room.

"Revenge?" Tsuna tested the word as it rolled off his tongue, savouring it, as if the word never appeared in his dictionary before.

Staring into space, Tsuna remained silent for a seemingly endless amount of time after that.

* * *

><p>"So? Are you going to confess as to why you have so many bruises and a broken nose?" Reborn demanded, although he really couldn't care less. However, Tsuna never did get into fights, so it <em>was<em> strange for Reborn to see his skin littered with black and blue.

"They... were hurting people…" Tsuna mumbled, acting every bit like a guilty child who did something wrong in front of his parents, even though Reborn was not acting like a parent at all.

It was at that moment where Reborn realised something. He never actually talked to Tsuna about that incident. He had always believed that if Tsuna didn't want to talk about it, then they didn't need to have a discussion about it, but in the end the trauma Tsuna had would forever haunt him.

Reborn sighed. "You know, I can teach you some self defence skills if you want, so even if you get in a fight in the future at least you won't get injured too badly."

It was as if Reborn just somehow knew that Tsuna wasn't going to stop fighting because he had such a stubborn streak in him. Was Iemitsu like this too? He couldn't remember.

Tsuna raised his head and regarded Reborn. "Alright. Thanks."

"What do you want to learn? Physical combat? Gun? Knife? Just the basics?"

"Gun?" Tsuna repeated after Reborn.

Reborn was a little surprised. "You want to learn how to shoot a gun?" Tsuna never seemed interested in guns or firearms; Reborn observed that he was avoiding them most of the time, in fact.

_Gun… Gunshots…_

The 'bang's still haunted him in his dreams and resonated in his mind.

Tsuna detested guns.

He detested the smell of gunpowder, loathed the sound of a gunshot, cringed at the sight of a firearm and most of all, despised the fact that his parents were killed by guns.

Tsuna finally answered, "No, please don't teach me how to use a gun."

* * *

><p><em>Drip, drip, drip. <em>

His grip on the hilt of the knife never loosened. He could feel the warmth of the dark, red liquid as it trickled down his right hand and down the blade of his knife, forming a puddle of what seemed like red paint on the floor.

_Is this it? Is this what revenge tasted like?_

Tsuna detested the colour red, but at the same time, his life was filled with red.

From as early as he could remember, he could only see red.

He followed after his father's footsteps, he became part of the mafia. He followed Reborn's footsteps, he was killing other human beings with an order.

Sawada Tsunayoshi could have had a normal life. He could be happily employed and contented working in a patisserie shop.

But life just didn't seem to work that way. It just so happened that once you get involved in the mafia you are cursed to stay in there forever.

Reborn didn't comment anything when he taught Tsuna the ways of an assassin.

Tsuna didn't know why he became who he is today. Was it really because he wanted revenge?

Maybe.

Revenge. When you have lived you whole life for revenge, on the day you have exacted your revenge, would be the day you realise there is nothing else in your life that has meaning anymore.

Tsuna felt his chest was hollow and empty inside. Perhaps killing people wasn't his cup of tea after all.

Does anyone have a guidebook on what to do after you have finished your revenge? Tsuna had never liked to kill anyway. He didn't like the smell of blood.

Furthermore, he spent his whole life thinking that he shouldn't die. Not after his parents died for him. But after his hands were stained by the blood of so many others…

Maybe he was waiting for his own death. Waiting for someone who could kill him.

Reborn said his parents' last wish was for him to be happy, right? So Tsuna will smile every day, until the day he dies.

* * *

><p>The day Arancione first killed, was the day the entire <em>Satana<em> famiglia was annihilated, and Arancione's name rang throughout the underworld overnight.

* * *

><p><em>Boom.<em>

The sound of the explosion brought Tsuna back to the present. His mind had wandered while he waited for the bomb to explode.

Tsuna was hiding in a building where his victim's house was in clear view. Smoke was now billowing out of the window, and panicked voices could be heard.

He had used a bomb disguised as a book on the victim's study table without anyone noticing. When the bomb activates, Tsuna tried to ensure that it had a short fatal range, only killing the target but not the others around him. However mild the bomb was, some books still caught fire and now the house was burning.

Tsuna watched as the fire burned, but his eyes were distant as he stared into space, unable to focus his eyes on the fire itself.

Nothing actually mattered in the end.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Managed to squeeze in some parental R27 lol. Ah Dad!Reborn is kind of cute xD **

**Reborn POV for the first part? Haha.**

* * *

><p>Reborn's inner monologue: What? Why am I stuck with this brat? *shakes little Tsuna off from clinging on his leg, but Tsuna's grip does not budge* What is he doing? Does he think he's a duck imprinting on the first living being he sees? Tell me again why I'm doing this. *shakes harder, then gives up entirely*<p> 


End file.
